By Robert Scucci | Published
One of the legitimate fears of parents is that their child or children will become full-blown psychopaths with a propensity for antisocial behavior, violence, or both. For Abbey Bell by Melinda Page Hamilton in the 2020s MOM Mothers of Monstersher worst nightmare comes true when her 16-year-old son Jacob’s (Bailey Edwards) behavior becomes so unmanageable that she decides to install an elaborate network of nanny cameras in her home to document his every move. Using the found footage filming method, Tucia Lyman Mothers of Monsters focuses on the lives of a mother and her son through fragmented video blogs in an attempt to determine whether Jacob’s behavior is the result of nature, nurture, or a combination of both.
Although I really enjoyed sitting Mothers of monsters, It’s one of those horror thrillers that I’ll probably only watch once due to its heavy subject matter, but I couldn’t recommend it more if you’re looking for a found footage entry that will disturb you to the point of wanting to install cameras in every room of your house the next time your child engages in questionable behavior.
Abbey has every right to be paranoid
Mothers of monsters is presented through the point of view of Abbey Bell, a middle-aged single mother who has reason to believe that her son Jacob is a classic psychopath. Fearing that his behavior will escalate to the point of committing a school shooting, Abbey becomes increasingly frustrated because Jacob – between his documented outbursts of rage – is doing excellently in school, has a group of friends very close-knit and, on the outside, he appears to be your ordinary angsty teenager by most conventional standards.
Uploading her video blogs to a cloud server in order to warn other parents in similar circumstances, Abbey tells her viewers that Jacob has outsmarted his therapists and knows how to behave normally in public places because he has mastered The art of acting like “False Jacob” whenever he needs to keep up appearances. Never failing to show receipts for his claims, Abbey often revisits home movies from when Jacob was a child in which he is accused of killing the family pet and acting violently towards children of his age.
Although Jacob exhibits impulsive and abnormal behavior, such as throwing bricks from a busy overpass onto traffic below (for fun) or doing Donkey-style home movies with his friends involving wearing a shock collar meant for dogs, it certainly seems like he’s taking it out on his mom for always keeping him at arm’s length.
Nature, culture, or both?
What makes Mothers of Monsters such a thrilling watch shows how Abbey isn’t necessarily a reliable character despite the fact that she records every interaction she has with her son without his knowledge. Abbey, whose fears about her son are justified (if somewhat exaggerated), also suffers from a number of untreated mental illnesses that are the result of past trauma involving her older brother who behaved similarly. way as Jacob when he was just a teenager. . Abbey’s camera footage is also quite revealing in that her pharmacy is full of medications that she may or may not take as directed, and she also has a drinking habit, which causes her to pass out on the couch for more than a while. occasion.
Additionally, whenever Abbey’s mother or therapist suggests that she might be overreacting to Jacob’s morbid curiosity about animal dissection or installing bumpers on his Airsoft guns, she stops completely because she is certain that her son is a psychopath and doesn’t want to listen. any entry suggesting otherwise.
Abbey has already made up her mind, and you’ll wonder if she’s at least somewhat responsible for Jacob’s escalating behavior.
You’ll only be able to guess until the credits roll
Family dynamics in Mothers of Monsters is a treasure that features a completely dysfunctional family dynamic that makes you wonder who is really in the wrong. There will be times when you find Jacob’s behavior justified by the way his mother treats him – he just wants to play video games and cause trouble with his friends without thinking about the consequences, while his mother is constantly nervous because that she thinks he’s a mass murderer in the making. His outbursts could possibly be considered hormonal or reactive, because he knows his mother thinks he’s a problem child, and it’s up to the viewer to determine which version of Jacob we actually see on screen.
When Mothers of Monsters progresses into its third act, you’ll find yourself asking even more questions about Abbey and Jacob’s relationship as things continue to escalate. Even as a clearer picture of Jacob emerges through the found footage, Abbey’s approach to parenting only makes the situation even more volatile.
Streaming MOM Mothers of Monsters
Mothers of Monsters offers a disturbing look into the life of a mother who loves her son unconditionally, but whose actions may be an unintentional contributing factor to the problems she faces.
Is Abbey an innocent victim manipulated by her psychopathic 16-year-old son? Or is Jacob a misunderstood teenager who is about to break down because he knows his mother has already made up her mind about him?
If you want answers to these questions, you can stream MOM Mothers of monsters for free on Tubi as of this writing.
